In & Out: Learning outside the classroom

The aim of this project is to support pupils' subject related learning outside the classroom. This is done by qualifying the collaboration between a dual target group consisting of representatives from formal and non-formal learning environments.

About the project

In European primary and lower secondary schools, learning outside the classroom is mostly understood as an appendix to academic learning, randomly added to areas traditionally linked to the outdoor setting, such as environmental education or personal development.

In this project the concept is defined as moving regular curricular-based education and learning activities outside the traditional classroom.

Learning outside the classroom

Learning outside the classroom is not integrated in the European formal and non-formal educational systems and its didactic potential remains largely unexploited. One of the reasons for not using learning outside the classroom as an integrated part of the curricular is lack of competencies among teachers and educators. The lack is especially in regards to “classical” subjects in the European schools systems e.g.. Language, Math, Science, Arts & Craft.

Innovative and diverse teaching

The project aims at contributing to making the teaching in schools more innovative and diverse by focusing on to interrelated needs:

In primary and lower secondary schools there is a need to further develop curriculum-related activities in learning outside the classroom settings through a systematic lift of competencies among teachers in the didactics of learning outside the classroom

Educators in the non-formal learning settings possess strong communicative skills and are competent at facilitating activity-based learning processes but need training in didactics and learning theory.

Training course package

The partnership will develop a further training course package, aimed at teachers in primary and lower secondary schools and educators in non-formal learning settings. The further training course will be interdisciplinary thus the dual target group will follow the course activities together.

The course package consists of two parts:

A foundation course with a general introduction to the didactics of learning outside the classroom

A subject-specific course, integrating the subject areas such as Mathematics, Arts & Craft, Science, and Language.